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Answer the front-desk phone with a calm, clear script
A short phone script for your most common calls, with who to put each one through to, so every caller gets a quick, friendly answer.
When to use it
When you start a new role or the practice changes how calls are handled
Step by step
List your most common calls
Jot down the ten or so reasons people ring most often, and who in the practice deals with each. Use roles, not patient names.
Ask your AI assistant for a script
Open ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini (or the AI tool your employer has approved) and paste this prompt with your list.
Prompt to copyI'm a receptionist at a [type of practice, e.g. GP surgery]. Here are the most common reasons people phone us and who handles each: [list of call types and the role that deals with them]. Write a short, warm phone script for each call type with: 1) a greeting line, 2) two or three questions to find out what they need (no clinical questions), 3) exactly what to say when putting them through or taking a message, 4) what to say if that person isn't available. Add a separate section: 'If the caller sounds unwell or distressed' that only tells me to follow our practice's urgent call procedure and who to alert. Keep each script under 80 words and use plain, kind language.Check it with your practice manager
Ask your manager or a clinician to read the urgent call section and correct anything that doesn't match your practice's procedures.
Keep it by the phone
Print it or save it as a one-page Word document on the desk computer so cover staff can use it too.
What you get
Repeat prescription call: 'Good morning, Riverside Surgery, Sam speaking. Are you calling about a repeat prescription? ...' Put through to: prescriptions clerk. If unavailable: 'I'll pass this on now and they'll ring you back by 4pm.'
Tips
- Never let the script suggest any medical advice; urgent or clinical calls always follow your practice's own procedure.
- Add new call types as they come up and ask your assistant to tidy the whole script again.